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December 4, 2011Latin America Summit Ends With High Hopes but Few Details
Caracas, Leaders from across the Americas wrapped up a two-day summit in Venezuela on Saturday, promising greater cooperation on economic and social issues but offering scant detail on how their new 33-country bloc would help further regional integration.
In his comments to close the gathering, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative who will host next year's meeting, acknowledged that the member countries had significant political differences, as evidenced by his presence on the dais with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a self-described socialist revolutionary.
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But the formation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or Celac, was less about navigating geopolitical realities as much as enshrining the pursuit of regional unity in an organization that pointedly excludes the U.S. and Canada.
The group distributed a 40-point "Declaration of Caracas," after the event ended, which stated that "political unity and integration" was a "fundamental aspiration" of the region and necessary for progress.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was among the various leaders who didn't stick around for Celac's second day, called for increased economic cooperation while others, like Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, looked for joint efforts to confront drug trafficking.
But the most prominent voices were leftist leaders like Mr. Chavez and his counterparts from Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Cuba, who filled their speeches with references to "imperialism" and ending foreign exploitation of Latin America.
Few significant accords were solidified and scheduled concurrent meetings of other regional alliances—like the Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, and energy group PetroCaribe—were canceled without explanation.
But Mr. Chavez, who has been the driving force behind Celac, has expressed high hopes and reiterated that he believed the Washington-based Organization of American States, or OAS, had outlived its usefulness and said "Celac will leave the OAS behind."
The U.S. has indicated that it will continue to back the embattled OAS amid renewed criticism from Chavez-allied leaders who say it is a shill for U.S. interests.
"There's many subregional organizations in the hemisphere, some of which we belong to. Others, such as [Celac], we don't," said Mark Toner, a U.S. State Department spokesman, at a press briefing Friday. "We continue, obviously, to work through the OAS as the pre-eminent multilateral organization speaking for the hemisphere."
The OAS was founded more than 60 years ago as a kind of United Nations of the Western Hemisphere. And as a regional arbitrator the organization is regularly accused of ineffectiveness and bias by disputing members.
Earlier in the week OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, said in a statement that he welcomed the formation of Celac and expressed confidence that it would develop into an effective organization and close partner. Many analysts say they have yet to see any indication that Celac, admittedly in its early days, can match the institutional heft of the OAS and have raised questions over the direction of the new pact.
But Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega said the birth of Celac should be seen as representing the end of the Monroe Doctrine and the U.S. hegemony carried out in its name. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa used much of his time at the microphone to rail against private media agencies in his country.
For his part, Mr. Chavez stressed the need to decrease dependence on U.S. and European financial institutions and called for the region to keep its foreign currency reserves at home, citing his government's move to repatriate billions in gold currently held in foreign banks.
Latin America has avoided the worst of the global economic crisis in recent years, but the region is likely to feel some pinch as many developing countries remain in muddy waters. Goldman Sachs estimates that economic growth in Latin America will slow to 3.2% in 2012, down from 4.2% in 2011, thanks to expectations for global commodity prices to remain elevated.
AFP Global Edition
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